Ubuntu-Grounded Decarbonisation of Civil Aviation in Africa: A Normative Framework for Green Transition through Sustainable Aviation Fuel on the Continent

Irene Maithya; Collins Odote; Elizabeth  Gachenga; William Kiema

doi:10.25159/2522-3062/21035

Authors

Irene Maithya Strathmore University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0921-2088
Collins Odote University of Nairobi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6705-5821
Elizabeth Gachenga Strathmore University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4425-0920
William Kiema University of Cape Town https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5579-8441

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2522-3062/21035

Keywords:

sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), climate justice, aviation decarbonisation, African air transport, CORSIA, SAATM

Abstract

International civil aviation is under mounting pressure to decarbonise, yet dominant regulatory responses, as epitomised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO’s) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and net-zero commitments, remain grounded in liberal, market-centred logics that commodify climate responsibility and risk reproducing ‘carbon colonialism’ in Africa. While Africa has contributed least to historical aviation emissions, its communities face disproportionate climate impacts as the continent’s skies grow busier and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) emerges as the preferred mitigation tool. This article argues that decarbonisation pathways in Kenya and African aviation lack an adequate normative foundation and that an Ubuntu-centred approach is needed to steer SAF transitions towards justice. It draws on Ubuntu’s core principles of relational personhood, solidarity, intergenerational and restorative responsibility, and ecological embeddedness to propose a governance framework that reimagines SAF as a communal obligation. The article shows how Ubuntu ethics expose tensions between market-based instruments and African climate justice and proposes reforms that range from community-centred SAF decision-making structures, safeguards for benefit-sharing and land-use, regional SAF cooperation under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) led by the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), and legal and policy amendments oriented towards just transition.

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